I have been reading Jonathan Sacks fascinating book, Covenant & Conversation, which are some of his observations and explorations of the book of Genesis from a Rabbinic perspective. He makes several observations like first comes cosmology and then anthropology and that God creates order and man creates chaos. Which will prevail? We may be a handful of dust be we have immortal longings.
My favorite observation of going through Genesis 1-3 is his chapter on "Garments of light."
Adam names his wife Eve and God clothes Adam and Eve with garments of skin (Gen.3:20-21). Some Jewish rabbis have interpreted this Hebrew phrase as "garments of light." This young couple bathed in divine radiance, clothed in garments of light.
Adam in the story leading up to these verses knows he is mortal and his life will end. His wife would bring new life in the world and immortality would now come through children. She was only woman before but now he gives her a personal name Eve. They were the same unique persons and his life is now as dependent upon her as her life is dependent upon him.
We also see a movement in Genesis 1-3 on the names of God. In chapter one, God is Elokim, God of divine justice. But in chapters 2-3, God is now called Hashem Elokim, the personal God who speaks, loves, forgives, teaches, and so forth. Just like there is a movement from a noun to a name for Eve, there is also a movement from a noun to name for God. In Genesis chapter 4, God is called the personal name Hashem alone. Something changes in these chapters. It is not God who changes but man's perceptions of God that change.
Just like Adam responded to Eve as a person, he could now see himself as a person. So Judaism now understands God through revelation as a personal God. It is then that God clothed this couple with garments of light. Humanity ceased being a biological species and became an enlightened spiritual being in search of God. The whole story of Judaism is the story about love, language, and relationships and the love we feel for another person leads to the love of God who then robes us in garments of light.
(excerpts from Jonathan Sacks, Covenant & Conversation, pp.33-40)
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